Apparatus for building rubber tires



July 7,'1925.

E. E. DAVIDSON APPARATUS Foa BUILDxNG RUBBER TIRES 1 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 2, 1921 g1g. y

July 1, 1925. 1,544,560

E. E. DAVIDSON APIARATUS FOR BUILDING RUBBER TIRES Filed June 2, 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet -2 fnv/enfin E. E. a'wldsvn ql/'Z55 citizen Vof the United States, ,residing at'` from the apparatus.

Patented July 7, 1925. o i' UNITED STATES g 1,544,556 pATENf-FF1CE--.

ELIAS E. DAVIDSON, or AKRON, oHIo, AssIGNoRro'THE Bfr. 'ciloo'nRIc'H"coiiI'IANY',` or NEW YORK, N. Y., A coRPoRAfrIoN or NEW YORK.

Application filed` June 2, 1921. lSerial No. 474,398.,-

To 'all lw--llozn it may concer/n.: Y

'Be it known that I, ELIAS E; DAVIDSON, a

Akron, in the county of Summit and State fil. of Ohio, havefinvented a lcertain new and useful Apparatus for lBuilding Rubber. Tires, of .which the following is a 'specification. Y .This invention relates to tire building ap-V lU paratus and more particularly to apparatus for building solidV rubber tires wherein the` tire-building material in strip form is drawn onto an `annular tire-base or rim in v'successive plies or laminations by the circumferen-y l' tial rotation of the tire-base. y

The main yobject ofV my invention is to provide .improved labor-saving apparatus forvthe work referred to and particularly to provide simple means for peripherally 2U supporting, driving, Eand compacting the work while keeping the'same in accurate alignment, and thus to expedite the tire building operation and shorten the time requiredto insert the work in and remove it Another object is to provide apparatus readily adaptable `for tires offdifferent sizes. The particular embodiment illustrated and described herein is adapted to support rand circumferentially rotate. annular metal base or rim members suclias are used as the foundations for solid rubbertires, and to wind and press thereon successive, superimposed convolutions'of uncured sheet rubber to form a laminated solid tire.' i

`A further object is lto provide an improved combination of a plurality of tirebuildingk units Vadapted tio-be mounted close together adjacentto a calender Yand thus toutilize a considerable part of the full lwidth of the stock as it comesfroin said calender.

Further yobjects andA advantages will appear hereinafter. p

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a preferred embodiment-of my invention.

LTFig. 2 isa front end eleva-tion of the same, partly broken away. Y l Fig. vSis a section on line V3--3 of Fig. 2.

4Referring to the drawings, -10'"(Fig. ll) represents generally aV calender adapted to supply-a Vplurality ofcontinuous strips of sheet rubber, 11,'thesheetfof stock as formed o-n the calender being continuously slit lengthwise atspaced'i'ntervals by the usual. slitting knives (not shown);

A pair of' frame members, 12,112, arc

mounted upon the' floor near the delivery.

side of the calender 10. 13, 14 are elongated work-supporting and driving rollers, pref# erably covered with rubber and windings ,of

fabric thereon, journaled in the members l2, 12, in parallel relation to each other and to the calender 10. Thespindles loff'said rollers are provided at the right-hand side ofthe machine with sprockets, one of which is shown at v15 forvthe front roller 13,l said sprockets beingy connected by la* chain 1'5. The journalof the rear roller,14, extends on through an additional bearing 17 (Fig. 2) and is provided beyond said bearing with a secondl sprocket, 18, which is connected by other sprockets and chains, as shown in Fig. 1, with a sprocket 19secured to one of the shafts ofy the calender 10, said several sprockets and chains being adapted toi drive the rollersV 13, 14 in the same direction,

counter-clockwise as Viewed in Fig. 1.

A pair of overhanging standards, 20,521, are mounted between the frame members 12 and the calender 10 Yand 22 is a beltsupporting vroller journ'aledbetween said standards,'parallel tothe rollers 13, 14, vand connected byia wide carrier-belt 23 'with 'a belt-driving roller v24 journaled in thelower part' of the calender-frame, said beltl being adapted to carry strips of c'alendered stock continuously to the work-supporting roller 14. 25, 25 are several solid tires in processof beingbuilt upon their rims.

Astationary, horizontal fulcrum shaft 26 extends between the frame members 12, 1 2, parallel to and underneath 'the front worksupporting roller '13. In spaced relation upon said shaft are pivoted a plurality oflevers `27,27 ,the outer ends of which are providedv withy adjustable weights 28, 28, said levers being individually movable about The inner end of each lever, 27, is formed with a bearing, inwhich is journaled a short shaft or4 axle 29, on whose ends are mounted,l

with their small ends adjacent, a pair of frusto-conical flanges or roller members forming in effect ya V'-grooved work-guiding roller .30, 30,' each of these rollers beingrv adapted tov be raised by the weight 28 against the work, -in straddling relation thereto, to align the same Ywith relation to the slitting knives on the calender.-

A stationary, `horizontal shaftVr 31 extendeV iioy between the standards 20, 21 preferably at a position slightly higher than the top of the work. In spaced relation on said shaft a plurality of levers,A 32, 32, are individually pivoted, at their rear ends, each of said levers extending forward over the work in alignment with the corresponding lever 27 of the set positioned under the work as previously described. Each of saidlevers 32 is formed with a housing in which is journaled a presser roller 33, preferably covered with soft rubber, adapted to bear upon the work, under pressure of its own weight and that of said lever and of weights 3% superimposed thereon. l

Pivotally suspended from Veach one of the levers 32 is a pair of arms 35, 35, each of which is formed with a bearing at its outer end, in which bearing is journaled a short shaft provided with frusto-conical roller members forming a two-part work-aligning or guiding roller 36, 36 similar to the rollers 30, 30 previously described, and adapted to hang upon and straddle the work and thus cooperate with the corresponding roller 30, to keep said work properly aligned with the slitting knives on the calender.

Each of the levers 32 is provided with an air hoist 37 suspended from a cross-bar 38 on the standards 20, 21, and adapted .to raise the lever and its connections out of the way, for the insertion or removal of the work. 39 is a platform adapted to facilitate rolling' the work .into and out of the machine.

In the operation of this apparatus, the lever 32 is raised out of the way by means of the air hoist 37 and a tire rim is rolled from the platform 39 onto the rollers 13, 14, which are common to the several tire-building units, and over one of the grooved rollers 30, 30, the weight of the rim depressing said roller 30, 30 against the force of the weight 28. The work-driving rollers 13, 14 meanwhile being driven, through the several sprockets and chains, from'the calender 10, the tire rim begins to rotate in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 1. The lever 32 is then lowered to operative position, shown in Fig. 1, by releasing the exhaust of the air hoist 37. The corresponding two grooved rollers 36, 3G straddle the top of the tire rim, bearing downwardly against it, and in cooperation with the similar roller 30, 3() at the lower side of the tire rim, properly align it. The corresponding strip of rubber stock is then brought to the tire base and started thereon by hand just above the roller 14. Thereupon said strip is continuously drawn onto the tire rim in superimposed convolutions 'by the rotation of the rim and each succeeding convolution is firmly pressed by the rollers 13, 14 and 33. rit further advantage of the grooved rollers is that they fold the margins of the first convolutions around the edges of the tire rim and likewise fold the margins of each succeeding convolution radially inward onto the sides of the convolution last laid and laterally press the same, wherebg7 there is a telescoping of one ply upon another and the adhesion between plies and the shaping of the tire are improved.

When the tire has been built up to the desired thickness the strip is severed, the lever' 32 is raised by the air hoist 37, the tire is rolled onto the platform 39 and removed, and the operation is repeated.

It will be observed that the work supporting and Vguiding means, in this embodiment, all contact the outer periphery of the work and mayV readily be separated therefrom, wherefore the work may be quickly inserted and removed in its own plane simply by being rolled into and out of the machine, and the stock may be run'almost continuously into successive tires. Since it is not necessary to get in between the tires to mount or release the same, as where a chuck is used, for example, there is the further advantage that the rims may be mounted side-by-side, in closely assembled posi-V tions, so as to utilize a considerable part of the full width of stock as it comes from the calender'.

lt will be apparent that tires of different circumferential and cross-sectional sizes may be built without special adjustment of the apparatus.

Various modifications may be resortedto without departing from the scope of my invention and I do not wholly limit my claims to the specific construction shown.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for building solid tires, said apparatus comprising a horizontal roll adapted to support and drive the work by engagement with the latters outer periphery, a plurality of grooved rollers adapted to be introduced, in straddling relation, to the outer periphery of the work by movement in the extended plane ofthe latter., said rollers being adapted yieldingly to bear against the work to align it on said roll, and means for feeding a strip oftire-building material onto'a rim member mounted on said roll. l

2. Tire-building apparatus comprising a pair of parallel rollers spaced apart and adapted to support a tire rim superimposed thereon, means for driving one of said rollers, a yieldingly mounted V-roller positioned between said vparallel rollers and adapted to bear against the outer periphery of the work in straddlingrelation theret0,'to align the work, and means for progressively feeding a strip of tire-building material longitudinally to said rim.

3. Apparatus for building vehiclev tires comprising a pair of parallel rollers spaced SIS apart and adapted to support a tirerim, means for driving said rim, a yieldinglymounted V-roller adapted to receive `the outer periphery of the Work between the aforesaid rollers, and V-rollers adapted to straddle and yieldingly bear against y' the outer periphery of the Work at-othereireumferential points thereon, to align the work. A v

1l. Tire-building apparatus comprising means for peripherally supporting and driving a tire rim, a member mounted for Inovement in the extended plane of said rim toward and from the outer periphery of the werk, a presser roller journaled .on lsaid member and adapted to engage the outer periphery of the Work, and a V-roller yieldingly mounted on saidinember and adapted yieldingly to straddle and to align the Work when said presser roller is presented thereto.

5. Tire-building apparatus comprising means for peripherally supporting and driving a tire rim, a member mounted for movement substantially in the extended plane 0f said rim toward and from the latter, a presser roller journaled on said member and adapted to engage the outer periphery of the Work, an arm pivoted on said member, and a V-roller journaled on said arm and adapted to straddle and beary yieldingly against the work to align it when said presser roller is presented to the Work.

6. Tire-building -apparatus comprising means for peripherally supporting and driv-l ing a tire rim, a member mounted for movement substantially in the extended plane of said rim, a presser roller journaled on said member, and aligning means for said rim mounted on said member and adapted automatically to engage the Work 'and to be reparallel planes by engagement with their outer peripheries, means for driving said rims, aligning means for said rims adapted p to engage eaeh rim, in straddling relation, at three eireun'iferentially spaced positions thereon, certain of said aligning means being adapted to be Withdrawn outward from the work to permit the insertion and removal of eaeh rim substantially in its own plane and means for feeding strips of tirebuilding material onto said rims. l

9. Tire-building apparatus comprising a eoV calender, means for peripherally supporting and driving a plurality of tire rims in position to receive tire strips from said calender, and a set of grooved rollers adapted to bear against the outer periphery of each unit of the Work, in straddling relation thereto, at three eiroumferentially spaced stations thereon, certain of said rollers being yieldingly mounted and adapted to be moved away from the Work to permit free insertion and removal of the latter in its own plane.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 211 dayof May, 1921.

ELIAS E; DAVIDSON. 

